It doesn't matter what the true number of baggers in D.C. was

[cali]

What matters is the perception, how much coverage they're getting and the tone of that coverage. They may have very well have succeeded in conveying the impression that they were a million strong. They've gotten way to much coverage and coverage that presents them as legitimate and a strong force.

That sucks.

[countingbluecars]

1. It makes it just that more difficult

for Obama to get things accomplished.

[tridim]

4. I disagree. These teabaggers have nothing to do with the reality of Obama's goals.

They're just noise.

[countingbluecars]

6. I'd rather that you be right. n/t

[krabigirl]

2. It is horrible. This country is doomed.

[cali]

5. every country is doomed.

this country is sprawling, diverse and complex. those aren't bad things.

[krister]

3. Faux News reported the protester's numbers as "tens of thousands".

"The tens of thousands of protesters marched to the U.S. Capitol"
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/12/tea-party-express-arrives-march-washington-protest-government-spending/

[SleeplessInAlabama]

7. Real moral of the story? We need to start getting our 50,000 together

and subsequently (tissue-papering / sock-stuffing / cod-piecing) the numbers to prove we're just as powerful if not more so.

I saw a sign there that kinda irked me. It went something like, "I want a Congress that votes with the MAJORITY, not a minority or special interests!" It seems as long as the true minority, the one that actually lost the election keeps running the public discourse, this person is not getting what their sign claims they want and we're not getting what we voted for.

[fasttense]

9. We had rallies and protests marches that exceeded a quarter of a million

But the corporate news barely covered it. If we did it again, do you think things would be any different? Nothing has changed in the corporate media to improve coverage of liberal marches. We, the majority, are still invisible to our own media outlets.

[merh]

8. Let's see

if I were Obama or a member of his staff, I would look to verify the numbers. I'd compare known numbers and crowds (e.g. - his inauguration) to the event. Then I would realize that yesterday was not what the media says it was and I would go on with doing the business for the entire nation.

[zoff]

10. In theory ...

... perception is a force to deal with. But whose perception? Judging from a quick visit to freepville, they are not all too ecstatic about some photos that have circulated online. Some on the site know that posting fake pictures makes them look desperate. There may be hope for some of them, maybe.

What matters to me is how the Democratic voting block sees the news. Do our elected officials know that the teabaggers' bark is worst than their bite? BecKKK is loud and obnoxious but represents a very small minority. Also, wouldn't lobbyists rather funnel their money into election coffers rather than bankroll a short junket for 50,000 let alone a million knuckleheads?

[KharmaTrain]

11. What Coverage?

I agree...perception is what matters to the corporate media and the games they like to play. But I really haven't seen much coverage of yesterday's "massive" rally on my teevee. MSNBC's been in prison mode all weekend and Chicken Noodle Nuze is also showing a lot of boring talking heads shows...little live coverage. From my vantage point here is their 9/12 bullshit was a massive FAIL.

The bagging last April got a lot more coverage cause it was something novel...same went with the astroturfing of town halls, but the novelty of these asshats is starting to wear off. Except for those who want or need for these losers to be relevant, the majority of the country now percieves them as crybabies and nutbags...a fringe not the mainstream.

If there's been coverage lately, it's been of how outrageous, desperate and irrelevant the rushpublicans have become.